How to choose the best office chair?

If someone told you that you’re going to spend 2000 hours of the year in one place and you have a choice about that place, how much would you think about it? So why many of us are not that careful when choosing an office chair?
Let’s run the numbers together. Anyone who has an office/desk job and works five days a week, will spend around 40 hours a week on his or her chair. If we assume that a year has 48 work weeks, we will reach the number 1920. Almost 2000 hours a year!
Whether you’re buying an office chair for yourself or choosing one for your employees, this is a choice that you should really think about.

What you should know before buying an office chair

1- What kind of work you’re gonna do?
If you’re going to move around a lot, you should look for good wheels in your chair. In this case, you may even want a chair that doesn’t have armrests. But if your work consists of sitting on your chair and behind a desk all day and staring at a monitor, the level of comfort is gonna be twice as important. Before buying a chair, you should know where you’re going to use it and for what purpose.

2- What is your preferred sitting position?
Do you lean forward or recline when working? Do you like to put one leg on the other and put your keyboard on your lap? For each one of these styles, you should check for adjustability in your chair. Are the back of the chair and its armrests adjustable or not?

3- How much will you actually use your chair?
As we told earlier, the average number of hours that an office chair gets used is high. But there are some people that use these kind of chairs for their home office. Or maybe a person’s job requires him to be on his feet most of the day and leaves not much room for sitting.
In the cases of long sitting hours, the level of comfort and adjustability will be the most important factors. In other cases, you may want to decide based on the look or the price of the office chair.

Key features of a good office chair

Adjustability:
As we told earlier, everyone has their own unique physique and sitting style. And for them to be comfortable in their seat, they should be able to adjust different parts of the chair as they wish. The height of the chair, armrests and the back of the chair should be fully adjustable. There should be no need for special equipment to make these adjustments.

Adequate size and weight capacity:
The width of the office chair and its size should be adequate, especially in the back part of the chair. Back of the chair should fully cover your back and support it when sitting. The width shouldn’t be too high. You should be able to put both hands on the armrests comfortably.
A good office chair should also have the capacity for high weights.

Comfortable and durable upholstery:
The material used in the cover and cushion (cloth, fabric, leather, etc.) should provide comfort and durability. They should not be so easily stainable. Seams and stitches should not irritate skin. The cover should also be breathable.

Smooth working wheels:
As we said, you should know the environment that you’re gonna use the chair in. if the floor is covered by some kind of carpet, you’re going to need better wheels for your chair in order to move easily. This is not the case for hardwood floors.

Warranty:
These days, the best providers of office furniture give warranties for their products. You should look for it, when buying an office chair.

Conclusion

Finding the best office chair is not as easy as you’d think. To do it, you should first consider your needs. For example, you should know what kind of environment the chair is gonna be used in, how much will it be sat on and in what manner.
When buying an office chair, you should look for adjustability, size and weight capacity, material used in the upholstery, condition of the wheels and a valid warranty.
We have a collection of high quality office chairs for you to choose from. Contact us for more information.